On April 29th,
2014, the debut album from Sonny Knight
& The Lakers, I’m Still Here,
was released in the US by Secret Stash Records on LP, CD, and
digitally. For Knight, the making of his debut album nearly 50 years after
recording his first single has effectively pushed the reset button on a long
and interrupted career. He and his new
backing band, the Lakers, recorded I’m
Still Here in a subterranean Minneapolis studio a scant seven blocks away
from the basement studio beneath a long shuttered record store where he
recorded his first 45 (as Little Sonny Knight & The Cymbols) in 1965 at age
17.

Shortly thereafter, music took a back seat to a three-year
stint in the army. A few more years in the Bay Area followed, before he
returned to Minnesota in the mid-1970s and joined the now-cult favorite funk
group Haze. By the early ‘80s, Haze had broken up and Sonny walked away from
music for a full time job as a truck driver.

Unbeknownst to Sonny, that lone 7” record he cut as a
teenager (“Tears On My Pillow” B/W “Rain Dance”) had become a prized item in
R&B collector circles in the ensuing decades and his powerful voice had not
been forgotten. In the 1990s, vocalists Monroe Wright and Maurice Young, formerly
of Minneapolis soul legends the Valdons, extended him an invitation to join
their new group, The Bachelors. When the Valdons were revived in 2012 in
celebration of Secret Stash Records’ Twin
Cities Funk & Soul compilation, Wright and Young tapped Knight as a new
member.

After six months of working together on shows promoting Twin Cities Funk & Soul, Sonny and
Secret Stash founder / in-house funky drummer Eric Foss formed Sonny Knight and
The Lakers. They hit the ground running in the spring of 2013, playing gigs
just a few weeks after their first rehearsal. In the fall, Sonny and the guys
spent a long weekend at a cabin in Northern Minnesota and it became a defining
moment. Staying up late, listening to old 45s, learning gospel songs, and wood
shedding tunes was a way for the band to develop a similar vocabulary and
refine their direction. When they returned home, they set up a string of
performances and residencies in Minneapolis and St. Paul. By the end of their
residency at the Eagles club in South Minneapolis in late 2013, they had crafted
a seamless high energy show reminiscent of the great soul revue shows of the
1960s. Immediately following the Eagle’s club residency the group hit the
studio to record I’m Still Here.

Recorded live in one room straight to tape, the album covers
a wide range of tempos and soul forms ranging from upbeat booglaoos to
beautiful ballads. Since the Lakers formation was spearheaded by a reissue
label focused on obscure music, the record encompasses more than just Motown
and Stax inspired sounds. Sonny’s exuberance and energy enforced by the
hard-soul grooves of the Lakers are what grab the listener.

Days after the April 29th release of I’m Still Here Sonny and company packed
Minneapolis’ legendary First Avenue night club for their release party. The following months saw the guys playing
club dates and festivals throughout the Midwest. In mid-September they embarked on a tour of Spain,
France, Belgium, and The Netherlands in Support of the September 22nd
European release of I’m Still Here
(again, via Secret Stash Records). Three
days after their return to the states they loaded into their converted shuttle
bus and headed out for a tour of the East Coast.

After the East Coast tour Sonny And The Lakers will return
to a steady flow of regional runs which will include headlining Radio Milwaukee’s
Annual Halloween Party at Turner Hall. The
holiday season will see the band retreating once again to the woodshed. Before the year’s end the group will finish a
new album slated for release in late April, 2015.

Nearly 50 years have passed since his first recording, but
for the first time he’s gaining international attention as the center of
attention. He says, “Sometimes I wonder, why me? Why are all these great things
happening now? All I can say is thanks. These are dreams that I had forgotten.
Only now that they are starting to come true do I remember that I had them at
all.”

Sample Setlist

Jucy LucyGet Up And DanceSock A Poo PooSugar ManHey GirlIm Through With YouBaby Baby BabyIts You For MeCave ManWhere Did You Sleep Last Night?Day TripperLion of LyndaleThe WitchI'm Still Here PT1I'm Still Here PT2Sonny's BoogalooPoison IvyWhen You're GoneHelp MeThe CryIt Had To ChangeOh MaryHow Long Until SomedaySooner Or Later